eduskator

NEW SRAM Red AXS review: Excellent braking and smoother shifting | BikeRadar

Seems like SRAM engineered a derailleur setup tool to ''limit chain rub'', but I have a feeling that they're also trying to resolve the infamous and the non-officially-recognized-by-SRAM FD chain drops they've been having for almost a decade now.

Thoughts?

datlas 

Too late for Andy.

But seriously, wait for some unbiased reviews. I expect we will know soon enough.

Jrasero

probably not. As I predicted SRAM Red E1 is now the lightest electronic groupset. I am running both my bikes with SRAM Force D2 with some older Red D1 parts mixed in and IMO the 10-36 cassette and new chain are really the only things I am interested in

Just preordered my Red E1 chain and 10-36 cassette from Biketiresdirect.com

eduskator

It looks like they redesigned the hoods too - like they did on the Force last year - which is a good thing. I've always found the top of the hoods to be awkward to hold and I like that position when riding flats at a faster than usual pace.

Jrasero

tempted to buy the hood kits, but it's like $1500 and the bike I truly would want it on is already pretty long reach wise and has a pain in the ass true intergraded cockpit. I already have Force D2 shifters which IMO are perfectly fine. Interesting to see how much better the braking is on the new Red E1 but again I never found any of the AXS D series to be anything but great although the extra pad clearance is welcomed since the rotor tinging in the wet or when warmed up is very real

DaveSSS 

I've never had chain drops with many SRAM AXS setups, but no SRAM cranks either.

Russ Roth

Can't speak on red but I've loved the way force shifted like crap and liked to drop or jam the chain. Interestingly I've yet to experience the same problem with rival. Wife's first gen rival 10sp has never dropped a chain, and both kids haven't had an issue with rival axs. So when I built the oldest's newest bike I subbed in a rival fd, everything else is force.

PeteHski

I’ve yet to experience this problem with Force, so it’s not that simple. There is obviously something going on, but it doesn’t appear to affect all users. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I doubt it.

eduskator

I've had the same experience on the previous Force gen. FD would throw the chain between the pedal and big ring or between the frame and small ring even if everything was setup properly and well within specs.

FD moves so slow as compared to DI2 (any), I believe it's part of the problem/explanation. Never tried Red though so I don't know if the motor is better/faster.

unterhausen

My understanding is that they fixed the chain drop problem fairly soon after Schlenk had his issue. I can't imagine they are ever going to live it down though.

PeteHski

When was that? Mine is 2022 Force and doesn't drop chains. Neither is it slow to shift.

tomato coupe

New SRAM Red Announced - Is this finally the end of chain drops?

No, it's just the beginning. Up to now, SRAM has been beta-testing their chain dropper.

Sierra_rider

I eagerly await the chain dropper and how it's going to change road cycling forever.

Camilo

The end of chain drops has always been careful installation and adjustment of the front derailleur. But what do I know, I only have 4 Sram bikes I built and maintain - two mechanical (Force and Red) and two AXS (both Force). I've not had a lick of chain drop with any, ever.

Jrasero

As some people pointed out chain dropping for even Shimano isn't new. Yeah on Rival AXS I have had my fair share of chain drops but it's like mayb 1-2 a year at most. Force D2 has been much more solid and knock on wood I have not had a drop yet. People forget that Shimano mechanical dropped far more often and my friend who just road the GFNY on Ultegra Di2 (12 speed) dropped his chain twice. Yes, Shimano front derailleurs seemingly shift faster even compared to Red E1, but to me that's a function of double tape and to me it's still plenty fast

eduskator

I've had 6 bikes equipped with Shimano groupsets so far (Tiagra to Ultegra), all adjusted by different people and/or by me. Not a single chain drop.

People can blame it on the person who installed and adjusted it all they want, but my amateur conclusion is that this is an engineering issue.

I had 1 SRAM Force equipped bike that gave me 2-3 chain drops per ride, every single ride. I had 3 different person, including the shop mecanic, adjusting it. I also tried adjusting it myself. Nothing could fix the drops. Now, whenever I meet a cyclist and see that he's riding SRAM, I ask him if he has chain drops just for fun. 90% of the time, the answer is yes. I can't conclude that 90% of the persons who worked on the SRAM equipped bikes I've seen in my life are incompetent.